The Books and Other Texts
| Title | Author | |||
| Anna Karenina | Tolstoy, Leo (translator: Constance Garnett) | HTML | Kindle | Anna Karenina (in Russian) | Tolstoy, Leo | HTML | Kindle |
| Challenger - Chapter 1 | Mike Richards | HTML | Kindle | |
| David Copperfield | Dickens, Charles | HTML | Kindle | |
| Frankenstein | Mary Shelley | HTML | Kindle | |
| Gifted | Anonymous | HTML | Kindle | |
| Jane Eyre | Charlotte Bronte | HTML | Kindle | |
| My Brilliant Career | Franklin, Miles | HTML | Kindle | |
| Oedipus Rex |
Sophocles (translator: Ian Johnston) | HTML | Kindle | |
| Oedipus Rex - Lecture |
Ian Johnston | HTML | Kindle | |
| Oliver Twist | Charles Dickens | HTML | Kindle | |
| Silas Marner | Eliot, George | HTML | Kindle | |
| Tess of the d'Urbervilles | Thomas Hardy | HTML | Kindle | |
| The Age of Innocence | Wharton, Edith | HTML | Kindle | The Iliad | Homer (translator: Ian Johnston) | HTML | Kindle |
| The Iliad (abridged) | Homer (translator: Ian Johnston) | HTML | Kindle | |
| The Odyssey |
Homer (translator: Ian Johnston) | HTML | Kindle | |
| The Odyssey (abridged) |
Homer (translator: Ian Johnston) | HTML | Kindle | |
| Uncle Tom's Cabin | Beecher Stowe, Harriet | HTML | Kindle |
The Mysterious Island, by Jules Verne, translated by Sidney Kravitz
Here it is in HTML form.
Around the World in 80 Days
- Mr. Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row, Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan died in 1814. He was one of the most noticeable members of the Reform Club, though he seemed always to avoid attracting attention; an enigmatical personage, about whom little was known, except that he was a polished man of the world. People said that he resembled Byron...
- Mr. Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No.7, Saville Row, Burlington Gardens. He was one of the most noticeable members of the Reform Club, though he seemed always to avoid attracting attention. This Phileas Fogg was a puzzling gentleman, about whom little was known, except that he was a polished man of the world. People said that he resembled the poet Byron...
Jules Verne wrote in French, so readers not fluent in French will be reading English translations. Two are commonly available. One is older and contains more "Victorian" language. The newer translation, called the "Junior Deluxe Edition," is clearer and easier for the modern-day reader.
To tell the difference between the two translations, compare the first sentences:
-
(Older translation)
(Newer translation, "Junior Deluxe Edition")
Here it is in HTML form, in text form, and as a PDF document suitable for double-sided printing and folding/binding. All three are the newer, "Junior Deluxe Edition."
Extras - Supplemental material
Here are some things to go along with the works we read.
Skinwalkers
Number the Stars, and The Book Thief
Around the World in 80 Days
1984, Animal Farm
Here is a map of the Navajo/Dine reservation.
Both these books have to do with young people and Nazism. On page 113 of Number the Stars, "Annemarie willed herself, with all her being, to behave as Kirsti would." She puts herself in Kirsti's shoes, tries to adopt her outlook, attitudes, and mannerisms, tries to think and feel like her. We too can try putting ourselves into another person's shoes.
Can you imagine being one of the Germans? Many of the soldiers were teenagers, and many more had been teens just recently. Their attitudes and behavior would have been formed growing up in Germany. What would that be like? How were they raised? What did they do? What were they taught? How would you turn out, if you grew up in their shoes?
A small part of the answer - if you'd been a German teen in
those days, you would have belonged to an organization called the Hitler Youth (PDF).
Here is an article about words of Indian origin in the English language.
Here is an article about the history of the International Date Line.When reading these books you might ask "Was Orwell an anti-Communist?" It might be more accurate to say that Orwell was against tyranny, deception, and hypocrisy. But better yet, read Orwell's essay titled Politics and the English Language (PDF, HTML).